Facebook shows no signs of relinquishing network-of-choice status for travellers

It will take a huge effort to unseat Facebook as the main social network for travellers looking to share experiences on their trip, according to a study.

Sabre recently polled 2,000 travellers in the UK (through Censuswide) to learn about their behaviour on social media, with Facebook inevitably coming out on top as the leading network.

Whilst some have predicted the demise of Facebook as younger travellers, armed with new platforms, enter the consumer-buying world, data suggests that the network is still a dominant player in their ability to share and discuss their travel activity.

Compared to other social networks, Facebook is a clear leader in popularity across the travelling public, with Pinterest now languishing in final place under the likes of Snapchat and Twitter.

Still, Snapchat is emerging as an interesting and popular network in recent years, driven by younger travellers with an apparent live-in-the-moment who are not worried about the longevity of content on the web.

One in four 16 to 24-year-olds of those questioned in the survey have used the network to share their travel experiences, whilst one in five in the same age group claimed to have been inspired to hit the road as a result of seeing content on Snapchat.

Finally, Instagram retains its strong presence for both travel inspiration and photo sharing, despite the dominance of Facebook.

The study found that one in five 16 to 24-year-olds used Instagram to research destinations, one in three over-35s had shared pictures of a trip, and one in four 16 to 24-year-olds had been inspired to travel by some of its content.